The Allen Brothers - Bells, Bells, Bells (1960)

Billy & Lillie - Bells, Bells, Bells (1959)

(Frank C. Slay Jr - Bob Crewe)
 USA
Original version
#88 USA

Single on Swan  YouTube by Billy Ford and Lillie Bryant. Also on Top Rank, at this time Swan’s major label affiliate. Produced by the writers.

Jazz-pop-r&b singer Lillie Bryant (b.1940) moved to New York in her mid-teens. Back in her hometown of Newburgh, New Jersey, she had taken singing lessons and sat in at her mother’s jazz club. Bryant had arranged to try out for the band of trumpeter Billy Ford (1925-1985) when Bob Crewe and his collaborator Frank Slay had the idea of teaming them up as a vocal duo, no doubt with the likes of Mickey & Sylvia in mind. The resulting single, La Dee Dah, became a national hit. Lillie Bryant now lives back in Newburgh and has been active in local politics and community work. Now Lillie Bryant-Howard, she still performs from time to time.

The first successful co-writes by Frank Slay and Bob Crewe were Silhouttes and its B-side Daddy Cool by The Rays (1957, #3 USA, on XYZ and Cameo). Both songs were covered often over the years (see versions of Silhouettes and Daddy Cool listed at The Originals). Daddy Cool in particular became a well-known song in Australia in the early 70s, thanks to the popularity of the band Daddy Cool and the spin-off single recorded by Drummond (1971). 

Slay (b.1930) and Crewe (1930-2014) went on to write and produce many songs together for the Philadelphia label Swan 1957-1962, including Billy & Lillie’s two hits, La Dee Dah (1957, charted 1958, #9 USA) and Lucky Ladybug (1958, charted 1959, #13 USA), and several for Freddy Cannon, including Tallahassee Lassie (1962, #6 USA, co-wr. Frederick Picariello) and Jump Over (1960, #20 USA, wr. Slay & Crewe, arr. Slay).

After that, both followed distinguished careers in producing, arranging and writing, Bob Crewe notably with The Four Seasons and their songwriting member Bob Gaudio. His career is well documented, especially around his role in creating the Four Seasons’ sound, although his work extended well beyond that. The Bob Crewe Generation’s instrumental Music To Watch Girls By (1966), written by Sid Ramin, charted Top 20 in the US. 

Frank Slay produced further Freddy Cannon records at Swan and at Warner Bros, including Palisades Park (1962, #3 USA) and Abigail Beecher (1964, #16 USA). He became an independent producer, notably on Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense And Peppermints (1967, #1 USA), and founded his own Claridge label in 1965. His own instrumental on Swan, Flying Circle (a version of Hava Nagila) by Frank Slay And His Orchestra, was a minor hit in 1962.

References, further reading: 1. Bob Crewe biography by Richie Unterberger at All Music. 2. Songs written by Bob Crewe at MusicVF.com. 3. Lillie Bryant page at Jersey Girls Sing. 4. Frank Slay at Wikipedia. 5 Billy & Lillie Rocked Dick Clark at Geezer Music Club. Lillie herself comments (January 2014), “I’m still here and I’m still singing.”  6 .“Legend Lillie Bryant to perform at Ferry Godmother fundraiser event”, Hudson Valley Press Online, May 15th, 2013 [archived page].